Baby Songs: Exercise, Interaction and Body Awareness!

May 4, 2017

It’s easy to promote exercise, interact and teach babies parts of the body! All you need is some good songs to sing!

Babies benefit on many levels from engaging in active songs. Movement-focussed songs are useful for helping babies become aware of what the parts of the body are called/what their bodies can do…and are a great way to get in a good dose of baby leg squeezing, while you’re teaching!

All you need are some good songs and some space for moving around, and you’re all set for some active fun and learning.

Let’s take a look at 3 songs that focus on exercise, movement and body awareness that are easy to learn, teach and use in your daily learning with your little one(s).

3 Baby Songs For Exercise, Interaction and Body Awareness:

Towards Learning!

“The Seasons” by Nancy Kopman (2013)

A big fan favourite is “The Bicycle Song”, from “The Seasons”. As a music and movement instructor, I encourage caregivers to have babies lying on their backs, so they can make eye contact with their little ones. Take those little feet in your hands and ride them around and around, while you follow the directions together: “up, down, fast, slow, twist, turn, in and out…”.

Soon, they’ll learn to do the actions themselves:

The “Bicycle Song” actions teach babies “direction words” through experience. The more you do it, the more they remember. It’s a real crowd pleaser in my classes/performances with babies AND big kids, who like showing off that they can do the actions themselves. It’s great exercise for those growing muscles!

Have you heard the term “Tummy Time”? Some babies love it, some babies hate it. Well…as much as babies love lying on their backs for my “Bicycle Song”, they seem to really enjoy the massage/stimulation they get as well as the soothing music they hear during my “Pat, Pat, Pat” song, from “Wonderful You”.
This song was actually designed to distract babies from what can sometimes be an uncomfortable (but important) position by giving them a little massage. Just turn them over, turn on the song, and follow the directions. Tummy time strengthens the arms, neck, shoulders and head.

It’s helpful to use a song that teaches the names of the parts of the body to reinforce what you’re teaching in these interactive, body-movement-focussed exercise songs. “Hello, Hello”, from “I Know I’ll Grow….” is a great place to start.

I actually use this song as a “warm-up” song when I perform, because it’s easy to learn, fun, and is a “backtrack song”, that goes through what has been taught already in the song. By the time you get to the end, you’ve practiced where each part of the body is located a few times each.

“Hello, Hello” is also a very upbeat, bouncy song that will get little ones bopping to the beat!
Happy moving and happy learning!